


Death and All His Friends

by Imthebumblebeebitch



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Fake AH Crew, M/M, ive been feelin angsty so this is happening, none of them deserve it tbh, ryan doesn’t deserve this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-09
Updated: 2017-11-13
Packaged: 2019-01-31 05:22:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12675243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imthebumblebeebitch/pseuds/Imthebumblebeebitch
Summary: The Vagabond was the most feared man in all of Los Santos. He seemed invincible, killing with no remorse and getting away without a scratch.Death, however, comes for everyone at some point.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> sorry in advance

Ryan woke with a start.

He was in a dark room, no light to be seen anywhere. He wasn’t bound, which was a mistake on whoever had him captive’s part, and his memory was a bit foggy. He sat up and realized two things: he was on a table, and there was nothing but an empty void around him.

It seemed to shimmer and gleam, and Ryan couldn’t pull his eyes off of it. If he just stretched, he might even be able to touch it...

“I wouldn’t recommend doing that, Mr. Haywood,” Ryan heard a voice from behind him. He turned around with a jolt, and found that the table was now larger in size. Before him was a large hooded figure, “Honestly, you humans always like to flirt with death, even after you’ve died.”

“Where am I and who are you?” Ryan hissed, glaring at the figure.

“I have many names. You may call me Death, if you’d like.”

“Yeah, okay, _Death_ , do you know who I am?”

“Are we really going to go through this? I’d much rather get this along quickly.”

“Should have thought of that before you kidnapped me.”

“You’re an idiot. An absolute moron.”

Ryan blinked at that. “I believe the idiot here is you. I am The Vagabond, most feared man in all of Los Santos.”

“Yeah, and you’re currently the most dead man in Los Santos.” Death, though cloaked and face hidden, conveyed an eye roll beautifully.

Ryan was quiet a few moments. “Dead?”

“Yep. Though I suppose you aren’t the most dead. I guess that would go to the man who got destroyed by a train. Anyway, now that we’ve established that you’ve died-“

“How did I die? Who are you?” Ryan asked in a hushed tone. The figure shook its head.

“Come on, Ryan, you’re better than to have a confused denial phase. Just accept you’re dead so we can move on.”

“My crew, are they okay?” Ryan pleaded. “I’ll accept whatever you want me to, I’ll listen to whatever you have to say, just tell me that my crew is okay.”

Death was silent a moment before sighing. “They’re all okay. They made it out in time; you made sure of that.”

A flash of a memory went through Ryan’s mind. The heist. The police had a tip, and were surrounding the bank. Ryan led the crew to a secret vault and sealed it behind them so they could escape, but he wasn’t able to make it out.

Ryan looked down and saw dozens of bullet holes coming from his chest, all of them bleeding. To Death’s surprise, he didn’t scream.

“They’re alright... Jeremy’s alright...” Ryan whispered, a few tears escaping.

“Wow, I honestly did not expect you to, y’know, show emotion, given your history.” Death told him, talking off it’s hood and revealing a skull. Ryan looked at it and tilted his head.

“You’re a skeleton.”

“Obviously.”

“You literally are Death.”

“Bingo. Now-“

“How are you talking without vocal chords?”

“I should just drop you off into the Void, I swear to God.” Death muttered. “I’m one of many Deaths, as you know us. You could say I’m a deity of sorts, a figurehead to pass judgement and determine the destination of any souls that are put through me.”

“So I assume I have a one way ticket to Hell?” Ryan asked. Death cocked his head.

“Why would you assume that?”

“I was the Vagabond in life; I wasn’t exactly known for all of my good deeds.”

“This life was nothing, you should talk to Mad King-“ Death put a hand over his non moving mouth.

“This life?”

“Forget I said that, it isn’t important. What is important is the choice you will be presented with.”

When Ryan didn’t respond, Death continued. “You have three options; you can stay sitting on this bench for all of eternity, you can throw yourself into the Void, or you can become a reaper.”

“Reaper?” Ryan questioned. Death nodded.

“You will return to the mortal plane, silent and invisible to everyone but those who are dead or dying. You will aid them in moving on, or send them to one of us.”

“Do I just permanently become a reaper?”

“I cannot answer that.”

“What happens if I just throw myself into the Void?”

“I cannot answer that.”

Can you at least tell me if it’ll be good or bad?”

“I cannot-“

“Alright, prick, I understand. I’ll do the reaper thing.”

“You sure? You don’t want to dwell on it more?”

“At least if I’m a reaper for the rest of eternity, I’ll know what to expect. Do what you gotta do to make me a reaper.”

Death looked at him for a few moments before shaking his head, chuckling. “You are quite the enigma, Mr. Haywood. Each life is so much more interesting than the last. Until we meet again.”

“Wait, what’s this about lives?” Ryan began to ask, but he was suddenly surrounded by a bright light, and before he could even blink, he was standing in the middle of Los Santos, the sounds of the city surrounding him.

He watched as people walked around him, seemingly unaware of his existence. It wasn’t until someone walked through him that he truly grasped his situation.

A man, no older than 20, phased through Ryan’s body, and Ryan saw him die. He saw the exact day, time, and how it would happen. He would die at 21, the day after his birthday, in a hit and run. He would die alone.

Another person walked through Ryan’s body, this time a 40 year old woman. Her husband owed a gang a lot of money, and that gang will take her as a hostage when she’s 42. He will choose to have her killed over paying the money, and she’s killed.

Ryan ran off, trying to avoid contact with people as much as he could. Inevitably, he still would phase through people and see when and how they would die. He eventually made his way to an alley, where he sat and brought his knees up to his chest, tears flowing from his eyes.

Imagine if anyone could see him now; The Vagabond, sitting on the ground crying over learning when people would die. It was madness, as he witnessed and was responsible for many deaths during his lifetime. The difference, however, was that he simply didn’t think about _who_  he was killing. Didn’t think about the life they would have had.

Ryan wasn’t sure how long he sat in the alley, but he did finally look up when he realized that the world was quiet around him. He looked around and noticed that everything looked a little discolored and distorted. Ryan stood up and began walking without really thinking about it, and he found himself looking at the body of what appeared to be a teenager. He bent down and placed a hand on her forehead, and she opened her eyes.

“What the fuck?!” She exclaimed, jolting up and running past Ryan, pushing her back against the wall, trying to put as much distance between her and Ryan as possible.

“Hello to you too.” Ryan said curiously. He knew exactly what he was supposed to do. How did he know what to do?

“Who are you and what the fuck is going on?” She asked.

“I’m not too sure how to sugar coat this for you, so I’m just going to step to the side and let you draw your own conclusions.”

Ryan did as he said he would, and he watched the girl go wide eyed and put a hand to her mouth. He had a strong urge to comfort her.

“I’m... I’m dead?” She whispered. Tears began to fall from her eyes. Ryan quietly walked up to her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“I’m afraid so. What’s your name?”

“Penny. I... I don’t have a last name. Not anymore.” Penny whispered, staring at her body. It was badly beaten, and there were many scars as well as fresh cuts.

“Do you remember how this happened, Penny?” Ryan asked.

“I... I was sleeping near here. Two men woke me up, demanding I give them everything I own. I’m homeless for christ’s sake, what the fuck would I have to give them?” She chuckled humorlessly. “They didn’t like my answer very much, so they brought me here and beat me. I guess it was just too much to handle this time.”

“Why were you homeless?” Ryan questioned. He was pretty good at this whole reaper/judgement thing, if he did say so himself.

“Parents kicked me out when they found out I was trans. Couldn’t stand their son going around acting like a girl, I guess. Oh God,” Penny said quietly, “they won’t even know. I’m dead and my parents won’t even know. My little sister, she won’t understand.”

“I know it’s hard, Penny-“  
  
“Please, please tell my sister that I’m going to a better place. Please.”

“I’m not too sure I can do that.”

“Why not?” Penny asked. It dawned on her a moment later. “You must be dead, too. If I’m talking to you right now.”

“You could say that.” Ryan murmured. He gently placed both of his hands on Penny’s temples and got a glimpse of her life. She was a good person in her life, doing whatever she could to help those in need. Even when her parents kicked her out and she became homeless in a city so dangerous, she still found ways to help those who were less fortunate than others.

“You don’t have to worry, Penny. You’re struggles are over now. You will have a happy eternity in the afterlife.” Ryan whispered as his hands, as well as Penny, started to glow. Penny was crying once again.

“Thank you, so much. Can I ask though, who are you? Are you God?” Penny asked as her body began to fade. Ryan snorted.

“Not even close, Penny. I’m just a guy who did some shit in his life and now I’m doing my best to help out. A reaper of sorts.”

“Can I know your name?” Penny was almost completely gone, but she got one final question in.

“Ryan. It’s Ryan.” He answered. Penny smiled and gave him a hug before disappearing completely. The sounds of the city returned, and everything appeared to be back to normal.

“Well done, Mr. Haywood.” Ryan heard a voice say from behind him. He turned around to find Death standing before him.

“How did I know what to do there?” He asked.

“Reaper’s are placed in an area with all the information they need to be able to do their job. I have to say, Mr. Haywood, you went above and beyond with that one. Normally reapers just pass judgement and move on, but you made conversation with Penny. You helped ease her into passing.”

“Well, she was a teenager; 16 to be exact. She was alone and scared and confused; I couldn’t just leave her like that and pretend like she didn’t have a future that was ripped away from her.”

“In any case, you’ve passed the first test; You do have what it takes to be a reaper. I will leave you to your job, Mr. Haywood. I shall talk with you again soon.”

Before Ryan could blink, Death had vanished. “...Prick.” He mumbled.

He began walking to the last place he probably should go, but he had to see them for himself.

He wondered how he would get upstairs to the penthouse; would the elevator work for him even though he technically didn’t exist on the mortal plane? He didn’t have to wonder for too long, since someone happened to be going up the elevator. Ryan rushed inside, and immediately wished he hadn’t when he realized who it was.

Geoff wore a sad look, his tired eyes somehow looking even more tired. His eyes were red from crying, and his hair looked disheveled. Ryan held back the urge to touch him; the last thing he wanted was to see exactly how and when Geoff would die.

Once the elevator door opened, Ryan followed Geoff out into the penthouse living room, where Jack, Michael, Gavin, and Jeremy were sitting.

“Caleb got him patched up. He’s looking good. Peaceful.” Geoff said quietly as he sat down next to Jack.

“So what do we do with him now?” Michael asked, refusing to look at anyone in the room.

“He told me that he would want to be buried near the ocean. He always loved the water.” Jeremy said quietly, never taking his eyes off his hands. Jack looked at him with pity filled eyes.

“I know the perfect place for him. We have a private beachfront property; there’s no civilization within miles. It’ll be the perfect spot for him.”

Ryan felt tears fall at seeing them all so heartbroken over his death. He wanted nothing more than to talk to them, to comfort them, to tell them that it was all okay. But he couldn’t. They couldn’t see him, couldn’t hear him. He was all alone.

Their voices suddenly faded out, and the world became discolored and distorted again. Ryan blinked, and he was stood before another body, this time of a man in possibly his late 20s. Ryan silently walked up to the body and touched his shoulder, ready to do his job once more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Vagabond, the most feared criminal in Los Santos, now helps people within the city move one once they die. 
> 
> He never expected any of what came next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry bout that

It had been 10 months.

10 months since Ryan had died. Since he watched his own funeral. Since he’s seen his crew.

The funeral was hard to watch. They indeed brought him to their beachfront house, nothing but ocean and flatlands to be seen for miles. There wasn’t another building even close to their location.

They buried him in the houses backyard, next to all of the flowers. Ryan couldn’t bring himself to look as his body was lowered into its final resting place. He just kept his eyes on Jeremy.

The lad didn’t look well. His eyes seemed to permanently be tinted red from tears, and he looked barely put together enough to even be there. The tears only continued to flow as dirt was placed in the hole, slowly burying Ryan.

“I can’t believe he’s gone.” Michael whispered, shedding tears of his own.

“He was supposed to be invincible. Why did it have to be him?” Jeremy sobbed, falling to his knees. Geoff and Jack both placed a hand on his shoulders.

“It’s because of him that we were even able to make it out alive that day. He saved all of us. He kept his promise.” Jack told him quietly. Geoff nodded.

“I’m sure that, wherever he may be, he’s glad to see us all alive and kicking. We gotta keep going. For him.” Geoff said. Jeremy only nodded, and Jack and Geoff walked inside the house. Gavin and Michael sat down next to Jeremy, pulling him into a hug. Ryan continued to watch from a distance.

“We know it’s hard, Jeremy. But you have to look toward the future.” Gavin told him.

“How? How am I supposed to live without him? How can I possibly live without ever seeing his face again, without hearing his voice again. I’ll never be able to feel his embrace anymore, or-“

“If you keep talking about what you won’t ever have, you’ll never be able to move on. I know it’s hard, Jeremy. I know it seems impossible, but you’ll get through this. I promise.” Michael said softly. Jeremy only cried.

The world around Ryan became silent and discolored, so he took his leave, not wanting to see Jeremy or his crew cry and be unable to help them feel better. That was the last time he saw his crew. He couldn’t bring himself to go to them, to see how they were doing.

So there he was, 10 months after his death, continuing to do his job as a reaper.

“Hello, what are your names?” He asked the little boy and girl holding each other in front of him. They were no older than 8.

“Momma says we shouldn’t talk to strangers.” The boy said quietly. The girl nodded, and Ryan smiled at them. He sat down on the ground in front of where they were sitting. He could only assume that their bodies were in the water behind them, since they were nowhere in sight; it made his heart hurt to think about.

“Your mother is a very smart woman. Why don’t I introduce myself first? I’m Ryan. There, now I’m not a stranger!”

The little girl giggled. “I don’t think it works like that, silly.”

“I’m Ren.” The boy said.

“I’m Nora.” The girl responded.

“Well hello, Nora and Ren. Do you remember what happened to you?” Ryan asked.

The two kids were silent a moment, deep in thought. It was Ren who spoke up. “Yeah. Yeah, I do. Papa and momma were arguin’ again, and papa was yellin’ a lot more than normal. Then papa came into our room and made us get into the car.”

“Yeah, and he drove us here and...” Nora teared up, “and he put big rocks on our feet. And he dropped us into the water.”

Both the girl and the boy began coughing, water coming out of their mouths. Ryan quickly got up and rushed over to them, placing a gentle hand on each of their backs. The coughing calmed down, and the two kids were able to breath again.

“Thank you, Mr. Ryan. Can I ask you a question?” Ren asked. Ryan nodded. “Are you God? Papa never believed in that stuff, but momma would teach us about it and I hope it’s all true.”

“Sorry to say, Ren, but I’m not God.”

“Of course he isn’t God, silly. God is a girl.” Nora giggled again, Ren joining in.

“I don’t know, maybe God can look like whoever she wants!”

“Well, you’re about to meet Her, so why don’t you ask Her yourself?” Ryan told the two kids. They looked at him with wonder filled eyes.

“You mean we get to go to heaven?” Nora whispered. Ryan cupped both of their small faces, and they began to glow.

“You will. Hey, if you find a girl named Penny, tell her I said hi, yeah? She’s got short red hair and a cool black and neon green dress.”

“Sure can do, Mr. Ryan! Will you come visit sometime?” Ren asked as he and his sister faded away. Ryan smiled sadly.

“I’ll do my best. I’m very busy, you know.” He told them, and they were gone.

“Well, you certainly are very good at your job, aren’t you, Mr. Haywood?” Ryan heard from behind him. He turned around, rolling his eyes.

“Hello again, Death. You have a skewed sense of soon.” Ryan grumbled.

“What? It’s only been 10 months. That’s not long at all.”

“That’s almost a year, asshole.”

“I’m as old as life itself, do you truly believe that a year is any time at all for me?”

“...Point taken.”

“I was just stopping by to check up on things. You’ve been rather fortunate with whom you’ve had to judge; how many have you had to send my way rather than directly to the afterlife?”

“Only 5. I figured I was just getting all the good people who lived in this city. It seems like it’s only the good that ever dies.”

“Oh? Are you saying you’re a good that died?”

“Not even close.” Ryan responded without hesitation. “Doing this, the whole reaper thing, it’s given me some perspective. If I could have a do-over, I wouldn’t join gang life, or even merc life. I would want to use what time I had helping people.”

“That’s quite noble of you, Mr. Haywood.”

“Yeah, well, sending kids into the afterlife really puts your life into perspective.”

“I’m glad to see your humor has not left you. We will talk again soon.”

“10 months soon or like human being soon?” Before Ryan could even finish his sentence, Death had vanished. “God, why does he have to be such a prick.” Ryan groaned. He teleported himself to the beach where his body was buried, a trick he picked up during his 10 months as a reaper.

Once again, no one was at the house, so he sat down at his grave. At some point, one of his crew got him a tombstone. He read the words inscribed on it once again;

_Ryan Haywood_

_Friend, Lover, Family_

_We Miss You, Buddy_

“I suppose people usually do this type of thing at the grave of someone they lost, not at their own.” Ryan muttered. “I just wish things could have been different. I wish that, instead of being a gang, the 6 of us could have lived a much simpler life. Maybe we all could’ve still worked together somewhere. Heh,” Ryan chuckled at his own dumb thought, “we could’ve become youtubers. I’m sure we would’ve been wonderful Let’s Players. Oh well, we chose the path we did, and we payed the price for it.”

Ryan turned his head to look out to the sea, taking in the crash of the waves and the sun dancing on the water. He sighed when the world became discolored and distorted and stood up, readying himself to teleport to the new body.

Huh, that’s weird. It’s more distorted than usual. He thought just as he teleported. If Ryan still had a beating heart, It would have stopped at the scene in front of him.

Time was stopped. The police that surrounded the room we’re all frozen in place, stood in a circle around the very last thing Ryan had ever wanted to see.

He was looking at the bodies of his crew. The police had raided Geoff’s penthouse and took out all of the Fakes at once. They were dead. They were all dead.

Ryan had a job to do, he knew that, but he didn’t know if he could do it. He knew, he _knew_ that he would have to send all 5 of them to Death, and he didn’t want to do that. He had no idea how they would be judged. They may all be sent to hell for all he knew.

“This is a hesitation you’ve never shown before, Mr. Haywood.” Death said from next to him. Ryan stared wide eyed at the bodies. They all had single gunshots to the head, and no one in the police looked injured at all. They must have snuck in during the previous night and assassinated all of the fakes at once.

“They didn’t deserve this. None of them.” Ryan whispered.

“Is that so? Are you implying that the others you’ve reaped deserved it?”

“No! None of them deserved this!” Ryan yelled, lashing out. “No one who I’ve seen die in the last 10 months deserved to die. Some of them did questionable things, yes, but did they deserve death from them? No!”

“I’ve never seen you quite so emotive, Mr. Haywood. You must really care for these people.” Death mused. Ryan wiped his tears away.

“Yeah, I do.”

“You do realize that if you reap them, you will be able to talk to them once again. You’ve held long conversations with the people being reaped before.”

“But then I’ll have to send them to you, and I don’t know if I can handle sending the 5 closest people in my life to hell.”

“You believe they will go to hell?”

“They weren’t exactly saints. Neither was I.”

“Hm.” Death pondered a moment. “I believe you’re ready to know something about this life and the universe around it, Mr. Haywood. You see,” Death started, “people are born, they live, and they die. That’s how the cycle’s always been. What isn’t widely taught is the concept of reincarnation.

When people do... questionable things in life that aren’t extremely horrible, they are given another chance in a new life. You, Mr. Haywood, along with your 5 friends over there, were destined to live out a billion lifetimes until you found the one where you get it right. The one where you don’t kill anyone, where you aren’t completely selfish. From the first life you all were given, you were always going to live out more.”

“I don’t... I don’t understand.” Ryan mumbled.

“This isn’t your first life, Mr. Haywood. It isn’t even your third or your fifth or your eleventh. You 6 have lived through many lifetimes. Now, I have a proposition for you.”

When Ryan stayed silent, Death continued. “You have two options; the selfless and the selfish. I will not judge you for whichever you choose to do, because I understand what human nature is. I need you to know, however, that once you say your choice, it is permanent. You won’t be able to ever take it back.”

“I understand.” Ryan responded with no hesitation.

“Your first option is to have me reap them, just as you would. They will all move on into the afterlife, I can assure you of this. They will be happy in heaven, but you will be unable to see them, and they will be unable to see you. Your second option is to have all of them, yourself included, reincarnated. Your memories will all be wiped, and you will start once again as a clean slate.”

Ryan stared at Death with wide eyes. “With the first option, after you reap them, what happens with me?” He asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

“You will remain a reaper for all eternity. You will become the sole reaper of Los Santos, and you will aid in the passing of all who live here until the end of time. I understand if you need to think about this-“

“I’ll do the first one. Reap them and let them live in happiness for all of eternity.”

“Mr. Haywood, you do realize what this implies, correct? You will never be able to see them again, for all of eternity.”

“I’m fully aware. As I said, I’ve had a lot of time to reflect. And anyway, I don’t want to be responsible for all of us reincarnating once again, just so I can see them again. Their happiness is far more important than my own selfish wants. So send them to heaven, and I will continue my job here.”

Death stared at Ryan for a moment, completely speechless. It took him a few moments to compose himself. “In all of my years as Death, not once has anyone ever chosen the selfless. Not once.” Somehow, even though he was a skeleton, Death was able to convey a smile. Ryan felt himself fall backward, and he was lying on the table once again, surrounded by the void. He could see his crew members on other tables around him.

“What’s going on?” Ryan asked, feeling himself lay down. It was as if he didn’t have control over his movements anymore. He was beginning to feel very tired.

“You passed the final test, Mr. Haywood; you were selfless instead of selfish. You and your friends will all only have one more life to live, and then the 6 of you will spend eternity in the afterlife.” Ryan heard Death whisper. Ryan didn’t respond, couldn’t respond. His eyes closed with exhaustion, and then there was nothing. Just before he was completely gone and born into a new world, his last life he would ever have to live, Ryan smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tbh this was a really weird fic and it was supposed to end way more angsty than it did but here it is i guess


End file.
